Kaduna Governor Uba Sani receives Christians freed from abduction in Kurmin Wali. @ubisanius/X
The abduction of 168 Christians during church worship in Kurmin Wali, Southern Kaduna, on January 18—now all reportedly freed—continues to raise deep concerns about the persistent persecution of Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region. This is despite repeated claims by the Nigerian government that Christians are not disproportionately targeted and its consistent denial that a genocide against Christians is taking place.
Soon after the abductions were reported, the Kaduna State Police Commissioner denied that the incident occurred, describing the families of the victims as “conflict entrepreneurs intent on disrupting the state’s relative peace.”
This denial was echoed by the Kajuru Local Government Council Chairman, Dauda Madaki, who claimed he had visited the village. “We visited the church where the so-called kidnapping allegedly took place. There was no evidence of any attack. I asked the village head, Mai Dan Zaria, and he said there was no such incident,” he said.
The chairman further insisted that “the rumor of the kidnapping is being sponsored by people who are unhappy with the relative peace Kajuru has enjoyed since the coming of this administration.”
Official denials create lack of trust
Reacting to these denials, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the northern region, Joseph Hayab, expressed strong disappointment. He described the way the police commissioner and other security agencies outrightly denied the abduction as “a total disappointment and a total failure,” adding that “the denial has increased the lack of trust that exists between the people and those who are securing them.”
Ironically, journalists who attempted to verify the incident were denied access to the area by security agencies.
Testimonies from villagers indicate that this was not the first such incident. The community has suffered repeated attacks and kidnappings over a long period. On January 11, 21 people were reportedly kidnapped in the same village and were only released after a ransom of about seven million naira (approximately USD 5,166) was paid.
Eventually, the police acknowledged that the recent abductions had indeed taken place, explaining that the initial denial was intended to prevent “unnecessary panic,” while investigations were ongoing.
Discriminatory response
The former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who previously admitted to paying bandits not to attack communities in Southern Kaduna, accused the current governor, Uba Sani, of paying terrorists ₦1 billion, an allegation Governor Sani has denied.
Local journalist Luka Binniyat observed that since Governor Sani granted amnesty to terrorist kidnappers in November 2024, there has been a noticeable decline in kidnapping across parts of Birnin Gwari and other predominantly Muslim local government areas of the state. “That reality is difficult to dispute,” he said.
Binniyat questioned what concrete measures were implemented in Muslim-dominated areas that significantly reduced kidnapping, noting that “the opposite trend has played out in Christian strongholds of Kaduna State.” According to him, daily kidnappings and isolated killings, carried out by assailants consistently identified by victims as Fulani terrorist bandits, have not only continued but intensified.
Local reports further state that the abductors are demanding ₦28.9 million, not as ransom for the captives, but as compensation for 17 motorcycles they claim were lost during recent military operations. Security sources say the bandits have insisted that the money must be paid before any discussions on the release of the abductees can begin.
Paying lobbyists to change the narrative
At the end of 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump intervened to address the genocidal attacks and kidnappings of Christians in Nigeria. After Washington officially labeled Nigeria a serious violator of religious freedom (CPC), the U.S. government carried out a missile strike on jihadist militant camps in Sokoto State that challenged the federal government to take the issue more seriously.
However, rather than strengthening security measures to protect Christian communities in the Middle Belt and working to rehabilitate the thousands of Christians displaced from their ancestral lands, the Nigerian government reportedly spent up to $9 million on U.S. lobbying firms to reshape the narrative and persuade the Trump administration to reverse the CPC designation.
In an apparent effort to appease President Trump, the government designated Islamist Fulani militia groups as “terrorists” and focused much of its military response on terrorist groups in the northwest, as well as on Boko Haram. Nevertheless, killings in central Nigeria continue unabated. In Plateau State, villages remain under attack, with communities forced to conduct mass burials.
The U.S. government’s commitment to protecting Christians in Nigeria must be matched by tangible action from the Nigerian government. This includes providing adequate security, rehabilitating and returning displaced Christians to their villages, and ensuring justice for the victims and families affected by these genocidal attacks.
